Spike-machine



(No Model) I v 4Sheets-Sheet 1. Q

J. H. ALKER SPIKE MACHINE No. 315,693. Patented Apr. 14, 1885.

INVENTOR. zZZMZJ U 19 BY I l 17m! ATTORNZY.

'VVETNESSES: QM Mum (No ModeL) 4 SheetsSheet 2. J. H. ALKER.

SPIKE MACHINE No. 315,693 Patented Apr. 1 4, 1885.

WLTNESSES INVENTOR ATTORNEY.

N FETtRi M020 Lilluguphcr. (mu-mm n, c

(No ModeL) 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 J. H. ALKER.

SPIKE MACHINE.

No. 315,693. Patented Apr. 14, 1885.

WITNESSES; INVENTOR- v 13m 5.10M M@Qa/ BY QM (a 71W ATTORNEY.

4 SheetsSheet 4 (No ModeL) J H. ALKER.

SPIKE MACHINE.

N0. 315,693. i Patented Apr. 14, 1885.

W'ITN ESSES;

" UNITED STATEs I PATENT rains,

JOHN H. ALKER, OF ALLEGHENY, PENNSYLVANIA.

SPIKE-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 815,693, dated April 14, 1885. Application filed September L l 884. (No model.)

To ctZZ whom itmay concern:

Be it known that I, J on)? H. ALKER, a citi zen of the United States, residing at Allegheny, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented or discovered certain new and useful Improvements in Spike- Machines, of which improvements the following is a specification.

In the accompanying drawings,which make part of this specification, Figure l is a perspective view of my improved spikemachine. Fig. 2 is atop plan view of the same.v Fig. 3 is a rear end elevation. Fig. ais asectional elevation, the section being taken on the line mm, Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a detail view showing those parts which operate immediately on the spike. Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing, on an enlarged scale, the stationary gripping and point-forming dies. Figs. 7, 8, and 9 are detail views of the rock-arm for transmitting motion from the powershaft to the shaft operating the movable gripping-die.

My invention relates to an improvement in spike-machines, whereby the machine is rendered capable of forming spikes of varying lengths by changing and adjusting certain of the operative parts, thereby avoiding the necessity of several sets of interchangeable dies and operative parts, as is requiredin machines of this class now in use; and, in general terms, my invention consists in the construction and combination of parts, all as more fully hereinafterdescribed and claimed.

In suitable bearings on the rear end of the bed 1 is mounted the power-shaft 2,0n one end of which are secured the driving-pulley 3 and the fly-wheel 4.

On the power-shaft 2, between its bearings, are secured the eccentric 5 and the grooved cam 6, the eccentric 5 being designed to operate'on the steel beari ng-point 7 ,secured to the free end of the lever S, pivoted to the bed of the machinejust in front of the powershaft, as shown in Fig. 2.

On the front edge of the lever S, midway of its length, is secured the steel stud 9, adapted to bear against the rear end of a block, 10, reciprocating in ways 11, secured to the bed 1, and in this block is secured the header 12. The slidingblock 10 is held in contact with the stud 9 in the lever S, and the lever 8 is held in contact'with the eccentric 5 by the rod 13, secured at one end to the sliding block andat the other end to the free end of the spring 14, secured to the bed as shown;

- In the free end of thelevcr 8 are formed the I undercut ways 15, on which is mounted the adj ustable block 16, adapted to be held at any desired point along said ways by the bolt 17 and clamping-plate, fitting in the undercut portion of the ways, the bolt screwing into the clamping-plate,so that by turning the bolt the ways are firmly gripped between the block and clamping-plate,

On the adjustable block 16 is secured the segmental gear 18, arranged to mesh with the rack 19, formed on the end of the sliding bar 20, provided with a dovetailed portion, 21, at its rear end, adapted to lit in a correspondingly-shaped groove in the head of the adj ustable bar 22, mounted in the split socket 23, formed on the head of the standard 24. The bar 22 is heldin any desired position by clamp ing the sides of the splitsoeket against the bar by means of a screw or bolt, 25. The main portion of the bar 20 is formed square, as shown, and the front end is supported and guided bya box, 26, secured to a block, 27,

I mounted on ways 28, attached to the front end of the bed, and constructed and operated in the same manner as the block 16 previously described. On the squared portion of the bar 20 is mounted the split socket 29, adjustable along said squared portion and provided with a cutter-holder, 30, adapted to hold the cut ting andswaging blade 31.

In suitable bearings located on the under side of the bed 1 is journaled the shaft 32, to

the rear end of which is secured the crank-arm 33, provided with a friction-roller, 34, at its upper end, said friction-roller projecting into the groove in the cam 6 on the power-shaft. The journal 35 of the friction-roller is formed eccentric to the stud 36, passing through the end of the arm 33, (see Figs. 8 and 9,) and that end of the stud adjacent to the journal is made hexagonal, as shown, said hexagonal portion being adapted to fit a correspondingly-formed portion of the opening in the arm, the remainder of the opening and stud being round, as shown. By means of this construction I am enabled to adjust thejournal and its friction-roller so as to compensate for all wear on them or on that surface of the camgroove actin g against the roller. It isimmaterial which end of the stud is made hexagonal, and, if desired, the Whole of the stud and the opening maybe so formed; nor is it material howmany angles be formed on the stud, the greater the number of angles the finer the adjustment of the stud, and vice versa.

On an arm on the shaft 32, near the front of the machine, is mounted the vibrating die-box 37. The arm on which siid'box is mounted projects up through an opening in the bed 1, and is recessed, as shown, for the reception of I the movable gripping-die 38,which is held and adjusted therein by the screws 39 and 40. This die is constructed with a gripping-face at each end, as shown, thereby providing, bya reversal of the die, for a continuance of the operation of the machine in case of the breakage of one end. This gripping-die acts in conjunction with the stationary gripping-die 41, located in a recess in the stationary die-box 42, formed on the front endof the bed 1. The die 41 is also provided with two grippingfaces, thereby providing for its reversal. The gripping-surface of the die 41 consists of a horizontal ledge, 43, and a vertical shoulder, 43*, against which parts the spike is held by the projecting'ledge44 and the vertical wall45 underneath said ledge of the die 38.

In addition to the gripping-faces, the die 41 is provided with a guiding-notch, 46, at one endof each gripping-face, having its edges on the feeding side beveled, so as to guide the spike-blank as it is fed between the grippingies.

In-the recess in the stationary die-box 42,

in the rear of the gripping-die 41, are placed I the point cutting and forming die 48 and the gage and filling pieces 49, one or more of said filling-pieces being provided with a blankguide and supporting-notch, 50, and these pieces 49 are made of varying thicknesses, so that by changing the location of one, two, or more of the gage-pieces from the front to the rear, of the point-forming die 48, spikes of any desired length may be formed.

The stationary cutting and point-forming die 48 consists of a block of steel having a thickness at least equal to the length of the bevel to be formed on the point of the spike, the outer end of the die being beveled at 52, and provided with a notch, 51, the bot-tom of said notch beingformed at such an inclination to the bevel 52 that the angle formed by the two will be equal to the angle of the bevels forming the point of the spike. The gripping and point-forming dies and the filling-pieces are clamped in the recess of the dieholder by the set-screw 53, (see Fig. 1,) passing through the end wall of the recess and bearing against the said parts.

In lieu of arranging the filling-pieces and point forming die as above described said parts may be arranged and secured by a setscrew in a case, 54, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, said case being placed in the recess in the diebox alongside of the gripping-die, and held in Fig. 2, said single piece being similarly constructed on both edges, so that it can be desirable in making long spikes.

The ends of the gripping-dies adjacent to the header are provided with suitable recesses for the formation of the head of the spike, the shape of such recesses being varied in accordance with the shape of head to be formed. The sizes of the gripping-dies maybe varied to suit the length of spike to be operated on. The longer the spike the longer should be the gripping-die, and Vice versa.

In operating my machine the gripping-dies and the stationary point-forming die are adjusted in accordance with the spike to be made. These parts having been properly adjusted the adjustable bar 22 is loosened in its socket 23,and the clamping-screw of the block 27 is also loosened to allow said block to slide in its ways. These supports of the bar having been loosened said bar is moved until the line of movement of the cutter 31 is in the same vertical plane as the beveled. face 52 of the die 48. The bar is then clamped as against lateral movement by clamping the split socket against the bar 22 and securing the block 27 on its ways. The bar 20 having been thus adjusted the cutter-holder is adjusted along the bar 20 until it is in such a position that it will be carried on the reciprocation of the bar 20 back and forth along the beveled face 52 of the die 48. The position of the bar Y20 and the cutter having been properly adjusted the segmental gear 18 is adjusted so as to mesh with the rack 19 or the bar 20 by sliding the block 16, to which the gear 18 is attached, along the ways 15 in the lever 8. v

p The machine having been properly adjusted, as above described, the spike-blank is fed in by hand or by suitable feed mechanism located at that end of the machine, adjacent to the cutters,into the notches and onto the supporting-ledge of the stationary dies. Then as the power-shaft rotates the movable gripping-die moves up and firmly presses the blank against the stationary gripping-die, and as soon as the blank is securely gripped the header is moved up by the lever 8 to form thehead, and simultaneously with the movement of the header the bar 20 is caused to move forward,

forcing the cutter along the beveled face of die 48, thereby severing the blank at an angle to its axis corresponding to the angle which the plane of movement of the cutter forms with the axis of the spike-blank. tion to severing the blank,as above stated,the cutter forces that portion of the blank adja-' cent to the notch in the die 48 into said notch with aswaging action, causing said portion to assume the shape of the notch, and thereby In addi-- reversed when desired. This construction is 1 IIO forming abevel on that side of the spike opposite that which was beveled by the cutting action of the cutter, thus forming a point on the spike bya conjoint cutting and swaging operation.

It will be observed that it is a prominent characteristic of my machine that itis adapted, by the adjustment of the dies and the bar carrying the cutter, to form spikes varying greatly in length, and that by the angular adjustment of the cutter-bar and the use of a properly-beveled point-forming die any desired bevel may be given to the spike-point, and it is a further characteristic of my machine that the cutter moves in a straight line during its whole stroke at every angle at which it may be adjusted.

In lieu of the segmental gear and rack I may use an arm pivot-ally connected at its ends to the lever S and bar 20, the pivotal points be ing adjustable on the lever and bar, respectively; or any other suitable jointed connection may be used for thepurpose of changing the rotary movement of the lever into a st-raigh t line movement of the bar.

It will be observed that, by making th e pointcutting and swaging die independent of the gripping-die, said cuttingdie can be removed for sharpening or renewal, in addition to its capability of adjustment, as above described.

I claim herein as my invention 1. In a spike-machine, the combination of a pair of gripping-dies, a stationary cutting and pointforming die, and a movable cutting and swaging blade, substantially as set forth.

2. In a spike-machine, the combination of a pair of gripping-dies, a stationary cutting and point-forming die adjustable, as described, for manufacturing spikes of varying lengths, and a reciprocating cutting and swaging blade adjustable on its carrier, substantially as set forth.

3. In a spike-machine, the combination of a pair of gripping-dies, a stationary cutting and point-forming die, one or more gage and guide blocks, and a reciprocating cutting and swaging blade, substantially as set forth.

4. In a spike-machine, the combination of apair of gripping-dies, a stationary cutting and point-forming die, one or more gage and guide blocks, said die and blocks being arranged in a suitable case, and a reciprocating cutting and swagin g blade, substantially as set forth.

5. In a. spike-machine, the combination of a vibrating die-box, a horizontal shaft operating said box, a cranlca-rm connected to said shaft and provided at its upper end with an opening having a polygonal perimeter, a correspondingly-shaped stud provided with an eccentric journal, and a grooved cam mounted on the power-shaft and engaging said journal. substantially as set forth.

6. In a spikeunachine, the combination of a vibrating lever, a segmental gear adjustably mounted on said lever, a reciprocating bar provided with a rack engaging said segmental gear, a cutting and swaging blade adjustably secured to the bar, and a stationary point-cutting and swaging die, substantially as set forth.

7. In a spikemachine, the combination of an adjustable pointcutting and swaging die, a cutting and swaging blade adj ustably mounted on a bar reciprocating in a plane parallel with the face of the cutting and swaging die and mounted in adjustable bearings, whereby the bar may be adjusted in accordance with the adjustment of said die, and a vibrating lever having a jointed connection with said bar, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

JOHN H. ALKEB.

W'itnesses:

DARWIN S. WOLCOTT, It. H. WHITTLnsEY. 

